Kül
by Kiki Cabou
Summary: High School Craziness-O-Rama. Jean learns what worries Scott. Kitty learns how NOT to be a cheerleader. And Kurt learns what it truly means to be cool. Fairly Kurtty. Definitely Jott. Completed! :D
1. BLT

Summary: High School Craziness-O-Rama.  Jean learns what worries Scott.  Kitty learns how not to be a cheerleader.  And Kurt learns what it truly means to be "cool."  Fairly Kurtty.  Definitely Jott.  

Category: Humor/Romance/Drama

Rating: PG-13 for some bad words and a high school plotline that's deeper than, "Is the basketball team going all the way this year?"

Some Random Notes: Hi, everybody!  *waves*  I'm still preparing the finale for Project: Wagner, although a mountain of schoolwork has made the process unbearably slow.  Don't worry, it will get finished.  :)  This little story was going to go into the Project, but it got a bit too long for a one-shot, so I had to make it its own separate thing.  And last but not least, the umlaut over the "u" in the title of this piece creates a kind of "oo" noise.  I leave the rest to you.  Happy reading! :D

=== KÜL ===

PART ONE: BLT

Kurt Wagner whistled a little tune as he slouched off to his next class, his backpack over one shoulder.  Dressed in his typical tan pants and a dark green shirt, he went practically unnoticed in the throng of people in the hall --- a noisy, rainbow-colored sea of excited students.  It was the first day of Spring Semester, and everybody was still kind of loopy, not quite done with Christmas break.

The mid-morning sun streamed in through the windows, and Kurt did his best to avoid it, like he did most things.  He smiled politely as he passed a group of girls, and they giggled.  To most everyone here, he was "that goofy foreign guy."  Friendly enough, but just "kinda weird, 'ya know?"

"Hey Kurt!"

Kurt whirled around and saw Kitty Pryde running to catch up with him.

"So, are you going to the Club Fair at lunch?" she asked, without stopping for breath.

"Uh, I sink so.  You?"

"Oh, definitely.  I can't wait to sign up for the cheerleading tryouts!  Yee!  Bye-ee!"  

And with that, she zipped by him, running off to another class.  Kurt scratched his head.  He hadn't seen Kitty this excited since last Friday's sale at the mall.  Still puzzling over this, he wandered off down the hall, weaving expertly around a group of jocks.  Some poor soul in a dirty brown sweater was shoved into his path.  He dodged at the last second.  The sweater looked like a smear of mud as the kid fell, landing hard on the floor.  The pusher, a huge football player, grinned and snickered.  The kid in the sweater snarled like a tortured dog, and Kurt escaped before the incident turned into something worse.

~ X ~

Jean Grey was annoyed.  She'd been shooting Scott Summers meaningful looks all throughout Chemistry, but the object of her stares wasn't paying attention to her.  He seemed to be focused completely on Mrs. McCarran, their teacher, who was blathering on about high energy and low energy bonds.  In Jean's exalted opinion, Mrs. McCarran was as wrinkled as a badly dried raisin and about as interesting as a rock.  She sighed and stared at the clock on the wall.  Only three more minutes until lunch, and then she could get Scott alone and talk to him.  

He seemed to be pretty bummed.  Maybe it was because she was still technically dating Duncan --- which was what she wanted to talk to him about.  Duncan had been a fun ride, but lately, friendly chats had turned to fights, and telephone calls to shouting.  It was over.  It had officially been over for a few days now, and Jean was about ready to pick herself up and go after someone good.

Scott was definitely someone good.

RING!

There was a general melee and confusion as the class hurried to get out the door.  In the middle of the hustle and shoving, Jean gathered her books and walked over to Scott, who was still staring at where Mrs. McCarran had stood at the board --- only Mrs. McCarran had gone to her desk.  Scott was either amazed by the blackboard, or…

Jean gently shoved his shoulder.  Scott toppled over like a rickety tinker toy, a snore escaping his narrow nose, and he bumped his head on the desk.  Obviously, this was one of the many advantages of sunglasses.  Jean giggled and tousled his hair as he woke up.

"Mmm?"

"Hey, sleepy-head.  It's time for lunch.  Let's get out of here before Pruneface sees you were napping."

"I wasn't napping," Scott said defensively, standing up a bit too straight and gathering his books.

"You have drool on your chin," Jean pointed out.  Scott started wiping furiously at his face, and she snickered.  "Come on.  I'll buy you lunch.  We have some things to talk about, you and I."

"We do?" Scott asked, surprised.  Jean had been so distant for the past few days.  It might be something bad.  But then again, he could hope.  "Really?"

She just smiled.

~ X ~

Kitty knelt in the grass of the football field.  She was breathing hard, spitting, hacking up dust, and tying her shoe.  If anyone had been watching her, they would have found this a bit disgusting.  Fortunately, no one was looking.  Except for a few people, everyone was busy hauling themselves towards the finish line of the "four times around the track" mile run.  It was a monthly monstrosity forced upon her gym class by Mrs. Finch, the ladies' basketball coach.  

Kitty made a bow with her laces and decided that being a superhero on the side had its advantages.  Thanks to early morning Danger Room sessions, periodic fights with the Brotherhood, dance parties and PE, she was in excellent shape.  She'd finished in 10 minutes, a time which, she was sure, would impress Bridget, Leila and Titania.  

Known collectively as "BLT," they were cheerleaders, with considerable sway over the football team.  They were the top dogs of the cheerleading squad.

Now Kitty was a fast runner, and a well-organized girl.  There were certain things she'd decided to get: a boyfriend (check, Lance was working out okay), good grades (check, she was pretty smart and the professor was usually around to answer homework questions), nice clothes (check, Daddy always sent money and the Mall was nearby), and breasts (working on it).

But what Kitty most wanted to be, right at this moment, wasn't a good student, or someone's girlfriend, or Daddy's little girl, or even a superhero.  Kitty Pryde wanted desperately to be a cheerleader.  She knew that The Big Three had been judging her run, and maybe even her body.  

She kept the fingers of one hand crossed as she stripped in front of her locker, throwing her smelly, gray uniform into a laundry bag, and she listened.

"You know, recruiting season starts tomorrow," she heard, from the opposite side of the bank of lockers.  "What about that Pryde girl?"

It was Leila.  Kitty's ears pricked up.  The Big Three were holding court.

"I don't know, she looked a little ungainly," Titania said.  "Doesn't really have anything _here_, 'ya know?"

Kitty looked at her nearly flat chest and sighed.  She knew exactly where "here" was.  Well, she was working on it.  That was what padded bras were for.  Duh!

"Yeah, but she's got, like, way too much down _there!" Bridget said, laughing._

Kitty's blue eyes went wide as she unconsciously began feeling her hips, belly, and butt.  Those were slim, taut, and small, respectively, but her lip was quivering anyway.

"Yeah, you're right!" Titania said, laughing too.  "She's just not cheerleading material.  And have you seen her hair?  It's like she's got a big brown mop on her head!  She wouldn't fit in at all!"

"Yeah.  She's just totally fat and ugly.  There's no way."

Kitty's impression of herself, which had been basically okay before this conversation, had transformed completely.  She stared into the mirror in her locker's door and watched in horror as her hips expanded to the point where her body resembled like a pear.  The healthy brown locks flowing down her shoulders turned mousy-colored and bushy.  Her belly pooched out.  Her ass exploded into a huge, cream-colored mountain behind her.  Her shoulders slumped.  Her knees knocked together.  She sprouted buck teeth and horn-rimmed glasses.

With a slight shriek, she sat down on the bench, defeated, and shook her head to clear it.  Taking a quick look in the mirror again, she saw herself as she normally looked, as though nothing had happened to the reflection.  But she couldn't stand it anymore.

It was official.  She was unacceptable.

She got dressed, grabbed her books, and hurried off to Biology.

------------

More?


	2. FYI

Wow!  People are reading this!  Well, I'm always happy to make people happy.  Here's more.  Granted, it's mostly Jott for now, but for those of you who are looking for the Kurtty, fear not.  The payoff's at the end.  :D  And the end is coming quick, as this is a four-parter.  Hang in there!  LOL  

PART TWO: FYI

Scott was trapped.  If he kept his eyes on the table, the tilt of his face made his neck hurt.  If he let his eyes wander around, he would most certainly get dizzy.  And if he looked straight in front of him, he'd be looking at Jean, which would result in him blurting out something stupid.  Jean Grey was actually having lunch, with him, in public.  And it wasn't like she'd come to sit down at the "geek" table he shared with everybody from the Institute, or that he'd said hello to her as he passed by the table she was sharing with Duncan and the cheerleading squad.  Oh, no.  Not this time.  This time, she was actually seated across from him, flipping her hair back with one hand and holding her sandwich with the other, apparently enjoying herself.  And he hadn't even said anything yet!

SCORE!

Jean snickered.  "Scott, look at me."

He forced his eyes to meet hers, and felt heat creep into his cheeks.  She smiled at him.  

"Yes, I heard you," she said, answering his unspoken question.  "You think waaaay too loudly."

Just the way she said "waaaay" made his heart pound.  Some errant butterflies fluttered around in his belly.  He cleared his throat.

"So, uh, you wanted to talk to me?"

"Mm!" she said, her mouth full of ham and lettuce.  She swallowed.  "Yeah, I did.  I um, I kind of have some news for you.  About me and Duncan."

Scott's face betrayed nothing, but his mind was racing ten ways from Sunday.  

_Oh God he gave her a promise ring or something stupid like that and maybe after graduation next year they'll get married and she'll have five of his children and there'll be four little Duncans running around just looking to terrorize the world and one little Jean won't be able to stop them all and BIG Jean will be barefoot and pregnant all the time and she'll be miserable with him and I'll never get to tell her I love her Oh God Oh God Oh Go---_

_~ SCOTT!  SHUT UP! ~_

The force of the mental yell nearly made him topple off his chair.  When he came back to earth, Jean was glaring at him.  He gave her a nervous smile.  She snorted out a laugh and shook her head in dismay.

"Scott Summers, I'm going to shut off that panic button between your ears if it's the last thing I do.  Duncan and I broke up."

Jean listened to Scott with her mind, only to hear … blessed silence.  Actually it was more like static, like she'd accidentally shorted out his brain.  

"Wh-What?"

"That's right.  We broke up.  We are no more.  Finito, done, over, goodbye."  

Scott gave her a very goofy grin and then replied, his voice dripping with insincerity, "Wow, I'm so sorry.  Poor Duncan.  How's he taking it?"

"Oh, like you care!"

"Oh, I do care," Scott said seriously, gently taking her hand.  "But not about him."

~ X ~

Kurt hadn't seen anybody from the gymnastics team, and no one was at the usual "geek" table, so he was wandering around the quad at lunch, munching halfheartedly on his stale piece of school pizza, and checking out the Club Fair.  The Club Fair, an event held the first day of every semester, advertised after-school clubs and things like that.  Every club had a booth, and most of the booth attendants were, in typical high school fashion, using their position to harass passer-by and hail their friends with their megaphones.  Hardly good advertising.

But Kurt wasn't paying attention to that.  He was eyeing a solitary booth, where a pretty blond girl with rather large breasts was admiring her nails and looking utterly bored.  More important, she was utterly alone.  Kurt finished his pizza in two gulps, wiped his hands on his pants, and sauntered over to say hello.  Amazingly, the girl looked up at him and gave him a coy smile.  

"Hey, cutie."

It totally threw him off.  Hot chicks simply did not throw themselves at him --- at least not in this universe.  "Uh, h-hallo," he stammered.

"What's your name?"

"Uh, K-Kurt.  K-Kurt Wagner."

"Well, Ka-Kurt, that's a niiice voice ya got there," she said.

He blushed.  "Um, tank you."

"Listen … Can I tell you a little secret?"

He nodded.

"'Kay.  Lean in."

He did.  She got up close to him and whispered tantalizingly in his ear, "I'm in a club that would be perfect for somebody like you.  You wanna know what it is?"

He nodded.

"Chorus.  They need guys.  Big time.  Wouldja join?  It would be so cool if you would."

He pulled back.  She batted her eyes, showed him every one of her teeth, and handed him a contact info sheet on a clipboard.

"Okay!" he said, dazed and happy.  And he filled it out.

Kurt walked back to the "X Table" and sat down with a smug grin on his face.  Kitty, Rogue, and Evan were hanging out.  Kitty looked despondent.  Rogue looked angry, as usual.  And Evan, his face dotted with band-aids from pulling a "killer trick" on the pavement during nutrition that had resulted in a trip to the Nurse's office, was looking sore.  Kurt looked way too happy for any of their tastes.

"Well lookee here.  We got us a grinnin' fool," Rogue commented. 

As sad as she was, Kitty stuck up for her friend.  "Leave him alone."

Rogue ignored Kitty.  "Whut in tha heck didja do now?" she inquired of Kurt, with her usual tact.

Kitty elbowed her.  "Lay off!"

"Can it!" Rogue shot back.

"Kurt … ?" Evan asked.  

"You're looking at ze newest member of za Bayville High School Chorus!" Kurt said proudly.  "Ziss is going to be so kül!"

Kitty gasped.  Rogue raised an eyebrow.  Evan shook his head.

"Dude!  Didn't anybody tell you?  The chorus is full of weird-looking girls with retainers!  It's not cool.  It's where geeks go to die, man!"

"Besides," Kitty added, "I heard them at the Christmas Concert, and Oh, My, God.  They totally sucked.  The chorus is, like, crap, Kurt!"

Rogue snorted.  "It ain't like crap, it IS crap!"

"But, but za girl at za booth said …"

"I don't care whut 'za girl at za booth' said!  Gitcher butt over there and say 'ya made a mistake!  'Ya ain't got time fer it!"

"_Nein_.  I can't!"

"Whut?  Wha' the hell not?"

"Because I signed a contract.  I gave her my verd!  I can't let her down!"

Then they ALL started carrying on, raging simultaneously about his responsibilities at the Institute, all the homework he had, etc.  Kurt listened with half of a pointy ear and pretended he cared.

~ X ~

Choir practice started that very day.  The school had just hired a new director, who everyone called Miss Kally.  Most of the girls weren't astonishingly beautiful, but they were rather nice, and the chorus seemed to be devoid of weirdos with retainers.  Unfortunately, it was also devoid of musical talent.  

Kurt was one of eight guys in the group.  Two of them he knew from the gymnastics team: Steve and Jim, twin brothers, both basses.  Kurt was singing bass with them.  Jack Takahashi, a friendly guy and captain of the Judo team, was singing tenor.  They all eyed Fred Dukes warily as he went to the back and stood there.  Kurt raised an eyebrow.  

"I'm just here for moral support," the big guy said.  

He thumbed at Lance Alvers, who was walking towards them, prepared to sing tenor, with Pietro and Todd backing him up.  Word had it that Kitty had told him to stop robbing convenience stores and get a hobby, so this must have been his solution.  

It was certainly a motley crew in the back.  Worse, it seemed they'd had something in common: they'd all been taken in by the blonde girl with the big boobs, who was now nowhere to be seen.  Realizing they'd been duped, they heaved a collective, "I'm such a hormonally-charged doofus" sigh --- particularly Lance.

"I cannot believe you!" Kurt hissed at him a few minutes later.  They were standing next to each other, each on the border of their section.  "I'm single, but for YOU to take a look at _das__ hübsche Mädchen* and decide you'd rather spend time viss HER zan Keety …"  He tsked in disgust.  "For shame."_

Lance fumed, then leaned in, so his nose was two inches from Kurt's.  "Let's make a deal," he snarled.  "You don't tell Kitty about the stupid blonde … and I'll let you keep your arms."

"BOYS!"

The shout came from down in front where Miss Kally, a small brunette with cropped hair, perpetual overalls, and an "I don't take any b*llsh*t from anybody" attitude was tapping her sneaker-clad foot.  She cleared her throat.

"Time to warm up, gentlemen.  Save the head-butting for afterwards."

~ X ~ 

The days passed quickly, and all too soon Kurt found himself sitting under a tree by the library, reviewing his music and panicking as only a trained performer knew how.  The problem?  Choir was sucking @ss, for lack of a better phrase, and they had a concert in 72 hours.  Their songs were out of tune and screechy three weeks ago, and they were out of tune and screechy now.  Kurt understood that Miss Kally was trying to get the group in shape by having them perform little mini-concerts of a few songs every few weeks, so that when they hit the big concert at the end of the semester, performing wouldn't be such a shock … but he was beginning to think that not performing at all might be the better option.

At least the past few weeks had been fairly kind to his friends.  Scott and Jean had been spotted holding hands in the quad, much to the delight of the younger X-Men.  Evan now sported a lot fewer band-aids, and was getting ready to enter a skating competition.  "Power-8 Skate," or something like that.  And the early spring air must have done something to Rogue, because she actually smiled one day at morning break.  Of course, the drop-out Cajun hanging around on the other side of the fence making kissy faces at her might have had something to do with it.  Whatever the reason, it was nice to see his sister looking happy.

Kitty, however, was looking sick.  Her hair had lost its usual shine, and her pretty blue eyes were glassy and dull.  Her skin didn't look so hot, either, and it even looked like she was losing weight, which was pretty dangerous for somebody as slim as she was.  Kurt had tried to talk to her about it a few times, but she got very touchy.  

"Keety, it looks like you haff za flu!"

"I don't have the flu, all right?  Sheesh, Kurt, quit buggin' me!"

He sighed, but his ears pricked up at what she muttered under her breath:  "As soon as these tryouts are over, it'll all be okay."

And so it went.  

~ X ~

"I'm fine, I'm fine, I'm fine." 

Kitty mumbled this to herself between coughing jags, all the while staring at her lunch, which was now in the toilet.

She let her eyes drift to the dirty walls of the bathroom stall, covered in an ugly scrawl of profanity, impromptu love notes, phone numbers, death threats, and political statements.  Then she looked back at the toilet, and at her soiled, left middle finger.

"Oh God," she muttered, at war with herself.  "I'm not fine."

But there was nothing to be done, now.  She flushed, struggled with the latch on the stall door, and stumbled to the mirror.  Her balance was off today, and the dizziness was worse.  She just took some deep breaths, warded it off, and brushed her hair into its usual ponytail.  The cheerleading tryouts were starting in a couple of hours.  Surely BLT had noticed her "rear" problem was shrinking.  She wasn't sick.  This was just temporary.  

Only temporary.

--------

Thoughts?  Comments?  Tomatoes?  Whatever you've got, let it rip.  :D

Translation: _das_ hübsche Mädchen _(dass HOOB-sha MEHT-shin) __= literally, "the pretty girl."  In this sense: "the hot chick."_


	3. BFD

Thank you everybody for reviewing!  One small note --- Fateema: You're right.  Thanks for pointing that out!  It's been changed.

This next bit gets into the Drama side a bit more.  Just warning you. 

PART THREE: BFD

~ X ~

Kurt whistled the counter-melody of "Red Red Rose," an arrangement of a Robert Burns poem that the choir was singing, as he jogged down the tree-lined path to the football field.  The sun was hanging low in the sky, almost touching the treetops, and casting odd shadows on his face.  He was feeling a little anxious.  This was going to be Kitty's big moment, and he wanted to be there for her.  The cheerleading tryouts were just starting.  

He skidded to a halt next to the track, and stood back with some other guys and watched the tryouts.  Oddly enough, Lance wasn't around.  He was probably out joyriding, or something.  Kurt turned his attention to the field.  All of the girls looked the same --- blond, skinny, with rather plump breasts.  He saw the one who had advised him to join choir, and braved a wave.  She just blinked at him like he was a mental patient and ignored him.  Kurt sighed, dropped his arm, and concentrated on looking for Kitty.  There she was!  The pink bow on her ponytail was bobbing slightly in the wind.

A whistle sounded, and the girls on the field began to huddle into small groups.  Kurt made out a table down the field from them, at which sat the big three, Bridget, Leila, and Titania.  They seemed to be bored with the proceedings.  Bridget was filing her nails and Leila and Titania were yakking with each other and giggling, pointing at some of the girls.  Kurt followed their fingers.  His blood boiled when he saw them directed at Kitty.  

And then he really looked at Kitty.  She'd been so quiet these past few weeks, feigning headaches in the morning to get out of Danger Room sessions.  And he heard she'd been ditching P.E., too, although nobody could confirm that.  It was bizarre behavior --- especially coming from somebody as bouncy and happy as Kitty.  Something was really wrong with her.  She looked pale, and gaunt.  He could practically see her ribs when her t-shirt blew against her.  She was shivering in the light breeze.  And she had obviously padded her bra with tissue paper.  She was tired, drooping.  The instant this thing was over, he decided, he would drag a story out of her.  

So he stood there with his arms crossed, looking stern and rather concerned, and watched the tryouts.

The girls came forward in teams of four, shrieking and whooping, doing high kicks and claps and cheers, and the first three teams all passed the scrutiny of BLT.  But the fourth team, Kitty's, messed up.  None of the girls were coordinated with each other.  The other three girls finally just gave up and stopped cheering, but Kitty didn't.

"B! A!  B A Y!  B A Y V I LL E!  GOOO, BAYVILLE!" she yelled, and clapped, finishing the cheer.

The three judges just stared.  One of them began to smirk.  The other two licked their lips.  And then it happened.  

One second Kitty was swaying on her feet.  The next, she was falling through the air and landing flat on her back, passed out on the grass.  Her head bounced up from the turf slightly, and her pretty little nose began to bleed.  Nobody moved toward her.  

"Keety!"  

Kurt moved on instinct.  He raced across the grass, plowed through about fifteen girls, and knelt next to Kitty.  Just as he gathered her in his arms, he looked at the judges.  They were cackling like hyenas and high-fiving each other.

"I so knew she'd fall for it!" Bridget said.  

"That conversation … man, we totally nailed her!" Titania replied, laughing.

"Hell, it's not like we'd have let her on anyway!" Leila threw in.

Kurt was speechless with anger.  He didn't know which pissed him off more: the fact that they were laughing at Kitty, or the fact that they'd done something else mean to Kitty, at some other point in time.  His face curled up in a snarl.

The judges finally stopped giggling and went quiet.

"I'm going to take Keety to za nurse," he announced.  "And vhen I figure out vhat you did to her in za first place, I vill personally make sure you all take it in za ass."

A quiet "ooooh!" when up from the surrounding girls.  Kurt silenced them all with a glare.

Bridget snorted.  "Would you listen to this guy?  Look, you can't blame us for her falling over.  I mean, if some stupid girl just happens to be one row over in the locker room, and just happens to overhear a conversation about how fat and ugly she is, we can't be held responsible for the consequences.  Besides, you couldn't touch us if you wanted to, little man.  We frickin' own this high school.  We're BLT!"

There was a long, ugly pause as Kurt gathered his thoughts.

"BLT, ah?"  He turned his head and spat in the grass.  "BFD."

And with that, he stalked away, carrying Kitty off the field. 

~ X ~

"So, you like it?"

"Oh Scott, it's beautiful."

Jean was positively glowing, staring at the small bouquet of wildflowers tied with a yellow ribbon.  She was blushing uncontrollably.  For some reason, the idea of riding around in a convertible and going to the movies was making her a little weak in the knees.  It was a Thursday afternoon, and technically they shouldn't have been going out, but Scott had promised her dinner and a movie in town.  He never mentioned a bouquet.  

Jean bit her tongue to keep from laughing.  Here she was, a powerful, intelligent young woman with an amazing mind, getting all weak and giggly just because some boy had given her flowers.  Then she looked at Scott's coupe.  It was gleaming in the driveway.  She could see it shining like a diamond from where they were standing, on the front steps of the Institute.  Scott had washed his car, she suspected, just for her.  

He offered her his arm, and they took off.

~ X ~

As usual, Kurt had reacted to his enemies with a lot more courage than he felt.  He didn't take Kitty to the school nurse.  It was too dangerous.  Instead, he ducked behind a building with Kitty, and teleported.

Kitty handled it well, even though she was out like a light.  Kurt took them home in two jumps.  They appeared behind a tree in a nearby park and he stopped to rest and pant for a second, and then they disappeared again, in a cloud of smoke.  *BAMF!* they appeared in the basement Med Lab at the Institute.  Their sudden arrival startled Hank McCoy, a.k.a. "Beast," who put his apish, furry hands on his hips and looked at Kurt disapprovingly over the rims of his glasses.  Then he looked through his glasses.

"Good Lord!  What happened?"

Kurt didn't want to say anything until he was sure he wouldn't burst into a diatribe.  He laid Kitty down on a bed.  Hank started an IV and took some blood.  In a few minutes, the Lab was buzzing.  The professor wheeled in, accompanied by Ororo, and they started conferring with Hank and treating Kitty at the same time.  Between Hank's flustered accounting of what had happened, Ororo's asking for gauze, and the professor trying to decipher what Hank was saying, it was quite a din.  The professor saw Kurt behind his two friends, looking lost.  Fear for Kitty's safety and a burning anger were coming off him in waves. 

"Um, Kurt, perhaps you could wait outside while we help her.  I promise I'll come out in a few minutes."

Kurt nodded quickly and left.  He didn't know what else to do.  The professor got busy with Kitty's blood sample, taking it to the machine and starting a reading, and Ororo was helping Hank examine her.

~ X ~

A quarter hour later, Kurt was pacing back and forth in the hallway outside the lab.  He didn't even stop pacing when the doors clicked open.  The squeak of the professor's wheels on the marble floor was like background noise.  Finally, he felt something grab his arm, and he looked down.  It was the professor.  They looked at each other.  The older man said nothing to the younger, and simply guided him over to the bench in the hallway.  Kurt sat.  There was a long silence.

"You should have heard vhat zose girls said to me," he said.

That got Charles' attention.  "What?"

By the time Kurt had finished his tale, the professor was rubbing his temple, trying to ward off an oncoming headache.

"I knew something was wrong," he said finally.  "I could feel it when I looked at her."  He sighed.  "If only I'd asked.  All right, Kurt, well thank you for telling me.  We'll make sure Kitty gets good care."

"For vhat?"

"Well, her blood sugar levels are astoundingly low.  They're so bad that iron levels and things like that have been thrown off.  Frankly, it's a miracle she's not worse.  I'm just not sure how she did it!  She's been eating just like she does normally."

"She's also been throwing up regularly for at least two weeks," Hank announced behind them.  He was standing at the door to the infirmary, stripping off a massive pair of rubber gloves.  "Her back molars are a bit, um, 'untidy.'  She'll have to get things cleaned and capped back here when she wakes up.  And Charles, I think we'll need to put some … some baby food on the grocery list."

Kurt actually felt embarrassed for Kitty.  He was dragged out of his reverie by the professor. 

"All this, just because of what those girls said.  Unbelievable what words can do to a person," the headmaster muttered.

"Can I stay vith her until she vakes up?"

"I think that's all right, but I'm not her physician.  Hank?  What's the verdict?"

"I think it should be fine," Hank said.  "You can go in, Kurt."

"Actually," Kurt said, "I'll be zere in a minute.  She might need some sings from her room."

Hank's eyebrows went up, along with the professor's, but they didn't say anything.

"All right, then," Charles said.  "Go on."

~ X ~

Kurt **bamf**ed out of the Lab and ended up in Kitty's room.  He wasn't sure what made him say that she'd need some things, but the more he thought about it, the more he realized it was true.  In a few minutes, he'd grabbed an extra blanket off her bed, her CD player, and her beloved stuffed dragon, Mr. Fluffle.  He flopped down on her bed, threw the blanket around his shoulders to warm it up, and sighed.  His golden eyes flicked to Kitty's bedside clock.  It was only 5 pm.  

He wondered blithely if Kitty had planned on being anywhere tonight --- perhaps at a restaurant, celebrating with all her new friends from the cheerleading squad.  Poor girl.  Poor deluded girl.  All of her hopes and dreams shattered because of gossip.  He scratched his head and wrapped the blanket tighter around himself, annoyed with the entire world.  This was BLT's fault, and it was Kitty's fault, but in some small way, it was also the fault of everybody at the Institute.  Why hadn't anybody done anything?  He had at least noticed something was happening to her, but even he didn't go far enough.  This could have been prevented.

He was pissed off, and his thoughts wandered to Lance.  When it came to Kitty, Lance was where most of his anger seemed to pool anyway.  But this time, he was really irritated.  Where was that @$$hole?  He was supposed to be Kitty's boyfriend, for crying out loud!  He didn't even go to the practice!  Logically, Mr. Alvers should have been the one carrying her off that field, but oh, no.  Couldn't have been Lance telling those bitches off for hurting Kitty.  Couldn't have been Lance picking her up and getting her home.  Mr. Mysterious Bad Boy was too busy causing mayhem to pay attention to someone who really mattered.  

Kurt growled, and felt the blanket getting warm.  It wasn't that he minded yelling at those girls, or holding Kitty in his arms --- he just wasn't sure he had the right.  That was the problem.  It didn't seem to matter how nice he was to Kitty --- she was glued to Lance.  Like so many things in his life, she was off-limits.

And that was what made him the angriest: the fact that someone who he liked a lot … All right, who he loved … could never be with him.  Ever.  He felt his chest tighten up, and got out of her room before the situation could overwhelm him.  The last thing Kitty needed was rough, salty spots on her extra blanket.    

--------

:o(  Poor Kurt.  Don't worry, it ends happily.  Kind of.  :-)

Translation, for those who are not familiar with the term: BFD = Big F*cking Deal.


	4. SUS

First off, Happy Thanksgiving!  I want to give thanks for all the wonderful reviewers who are reading this story, and I'd also like to announce that I will be putting up more of "Project: Wagner" pretty soon.  Famous last words, I know, but I honestly do mean it.  As soon as I finish this damn research paper, I'm free and clear … until finals.  :-(  Oh, how I suffer for my art.  *thinks* Actually, "Oh, how my art suffers for my schoolwork."  Yeah, that sounds better.  Enjoy!

PART FOUR: SUS

~ X ~

"Damn it!" Lance muttered.  "Where the hell is she?"

"I-dunno."

"Gaah!  Pietro!  What are you doing here?!"

"Finished-my-homework.  I-got-bored."

Lance sighed in frustration and pointed at himself.  "You see this?  This is me not caring.  Now beat it before I rock you."

"Whooo!  Touchy!"

"Get lost, you moron!  I have a date with Kitty!"

Pietro looked around.  Lance was well-dressed, and sitting by himself at a small table outside The Deli, a little eatery in downtown Bayville.  Kitty, who should have been there a half an hour ago, was nowhere to be seen.  Pietro put his hands on his hips and tsked at Lance.

"Dude,-I-hate-to-break-this-to-you,-but-I-don't-think-she's-coming."

"I e-mailed her last week and invited her.  Believe me, she'll be here."

"Yo, I dunno," Toad said, hopping over to them.  (Lance cringed in annoyance.)  "I think we got us a case a' SUS."

"SUS?"

"Stood UP, sucka!"

Lance fumed.  "Go try your luck with Wanda, swamp thing!" he snarled at Toad, who went "Whoa!" and hopped out of range.  Then he rounded on Pietro.  "Don't you and your tight pants have some place to be?"

Pietro arched one of his spastic eyebrows, blew a raspberry, and took off, picking up a screaming Toad along the way.  He left behind a wind that ruffled Lance's hair.

Lance straightened his jacket and went to a payphone.  This was a guilt date, and he knew it.  He hadn't really been paying attention to Kitty for the past few weeks, because he hadn't been at school that much --- petty thievery and general mischief had taken up quite a bit of his time.  He just wanted to see her tonight to make sure she was all right.  So he put in some change and dialed.

"Xavier Institute.  Oh.  Hello, Lance."

It was Professor Xavier.  Lance felt little goosebumps rise on his neck.  He gulped.  "Uh, hi.  Kitty was supposed to meet me in town, and she's not here.  I was just wondering if she's, uh, if she's okay."  

He cringed at how stupid that sounded.  Most likely, Kitty and her brain (which, in his opinion, were not necessarily connected) had forgotten he'd asked her out, and she was hanging around painting her nails or something.

"Actually, she's ill," was the terse reply.  The tone gave him the sickening feeling that somehow the professor had heard his thoughts, even through the phone line.  

He summoned his courage and continued the conversation.  "Whoa.  That's terrible.  How long has she been sick?"

"For the past three weeks, I'm afraid.  However, I'm sure she'll be feeling better soon, and I will send her your regards.  Goodnight, Mr. Alvers."

-click-

Lance just stood there and blinked at the phone.  He hung up, wandered away from The Deli, and headed back to the boarding house, mentally kicking himself the whole way.

~ X ~

Friday afternoon was dragging on forever.  It was the choir's dress rehearsal before Saturday's small concert, the group was still sounding lousy, and Kurt was anxious to get home and see if Kitty had woken up yet.  She hadn't come out of it last night, prompting Beast to start putting some protein into her IV, along with the electrolytes and medication.  He remembered throwing the extra blanket over her before bed, and tucking Mr. Fluffle under her arm.  Everything about her seemed so small and fragile, so different from the happy, energetic girl her knew.  Her breathing was slow and her skin looked waxy.

"Mr. WAGNER!"

"I didn't do it!" he yelled.

The whole choir started laughing.  Kurt snapped out of his little day-mare and looked at Miss Kally, who was tapping her foot.

"Mr. Wagner.  Ordinarily, I would work with the basses on getting their pitch up, but there's no time.  And since you seem to be the only person in this entire damn choir who can remotely carry a tune, I want you to take the final bass entrance as a solo.  All right?"

"Y-Yes, ma'am."

"Thank you."

They went back to singing "Red Red Rose."  It was terrible.  Lance, who was belting the tenor line with all the pitch placement of a braying donkey, looked angry and annoyed, but had made no move to ask Kurt about Kitty.  Choir ended with Miss Kally flinging her hands into the air in disgust, and sending everybody home.  

Kurt grabbed his backpack and bolted out the door, yelling, "Tanks-Miss-Kally-see-you-tomorrow!"

Miss Kally was a little surprised.  She started to wave goodbye, but Kurt was already gone.  The rest of the choir was still packing up.

~ X ~ 

Scott watched the sunset as he leaned against the side of the gymnasium.  The spring wind blew through his hair, ruffling it a little.  He put his hands in the pockets of his jacket and closed his eyes.  It was exciting, this idea of going out with Jean twice in two days.  They had mutually decided to date whenever both of them had the time, particularly if it came in little spurts like this.  The wind suddenly smelled like strawberries and soap, and he turned his head to see Jean standing next to him.  She wore a lovely knee-length dress and coat.  

He smiled.  "Ready?"

"Let's do this."

They hopped into Scott's car and headed out.  They were going to Candyland.  Scott had suggested the place to Jean over lunch, insisting that he could "really whack balls around."  The unintentional innuendo made him blush like a fire engine and made her snort into her milkshake.  Granted, the idea of two superheroes playing mini-golf struck Jean as a little ludicrous, but this was going to be fun.  Bonus if they got through their date without being called upon to save the world.  

Scott was driving one-handed, and his free hand was resting on his thigh.  Jean took it in hers.  Neither could help their quiet sighs, because the whole thing felt so blessedly … normal.

~ X ~

It was only after they got back that evening and Jean had finished showering that she found the letter in her room.  Suspecting it was from Scott, and also suspecting it was rather personal, she locked her door and flopped down on her bed to read it in private.

_Dear Jean,_

_I can't believe you kicked my butt at mini-golf.  Let's go bowling next time.  Mwa ha ha!  _

Jean groaned.  Scott knew she was terrible at bowling.

_Anyway, I know you're in the shower right now, but I just have to get this off my chest: I am the luckiest guy alive.  And the reason is reading this letter._

_LYA,_

_Scott_

Considering her wisdom and mental powers, Miss Grey didn't have the most mature reaction.  "Eeeee!" she squealed happily, hugging the paper to her chest and rolling around on the bed.  Jean, after all, was a teenager.  And any teenager worth her salt knew that LYA stood for "Loving You Always."  Scott had just made them official.    

"Whoo-hoo-hoo!  Yea--- whuaaa!"

She rolled too far, fell off her bed, and landed on the carpet in a heap.  Springing up, her dignity reasonably intact (even if her hair was messed up), she dusted herself off, set her face in its usual passive expression, and straightened her bathrobe.  Then she hid the letter in her drawer and went about her business, as calmly as if nothing had happened.

------

Hang on, the end's a coming tomorrow!


	5. LYA

Okay, so the ending didn't exactly come tomorrow. 

*looks embarrassed* 

I tried, I really did!  

Anyway, welcome to the last part of "Kül."  This is the totally shmoopy, Kurtty, romantic part of the story.  Actually, I don't know if shmoop is the right word, but it's awfully fun to type.  Shmoop, shmoop, shmoop.  See?  Fun!  Ladies and gents, I thank you all for reading and/or reviewing.  This has really been a kick to write.  And now, without further ado: the "thrilling conclusion."  :o)

PART FIVE: LYA

~ X ~

"Keety, I just vanted to tell you you vere right," Kurt said.  "Tomorrow is za choir concert, and ve ah sucking somesing awful.  I vill never do ziss again."

Kitty didn't answer.  She was still asleep in the Med Lab, and Kurt sitting at her bedside, holding her hand.  

Together, he, Hank, and the professor had pieced together what had happened.  Kitty had been starving herself, but she'd also been saving energy by not participating in the Danger Room sessions, or, as the attendance records showed, in P.E..  When the cheerleading tryouts came, the sudden physical activity, combined with the lack of food, was just too much for her, and that was that.

Of course, knowing what happened didn't make anyone feel better.  Hank had his hands full making sure Kitty's "levels" got back into balance, and there had been constant tests to make sure she hadn't seriously damaged herself internally.  (She hadn't.)  The professor was having a dilemma of his own.  Dealing with the girls at school was out of his hands, but he wasn't sure whether to call Kitty's parents or not.  Kurt argued against scaring them unnecessarily.  He figured she was bound to wake up soon.  The professor and Hank didn't give much credence to this --- Kurt's medical experience was limited, after all, to the receiving end --- but it was a game of "wait and see" anyway, and they were too tired to argue with him.  In the end, they left him with her for a few hours and went to do other things.  

Kurt had tried everything he could think of, and she still hadn't woken up.  She hadn't even woken up and laughed at his description of the sound of the Bayville High School Chorus.  He told her a ridiculous joke that, earlier in the week, made Jack Takahashi blow milk out his nose.  Nothing.  He even tickled her and blew on her tummy.  Nada.

He sat back in his chair.  At least, he thought, she would be too sick to attend tomorrow night's choir concert.  It would be slightly less humiliating that way.  He glanced at the clock on the wall; it was almost seven.  Above them, it was very quiet and still.  Most of the mansion was out having fun.  Kurt sighed, propped his furry feet on the bed, and took a look at his music for "Red Red Rose," humming the bass line and keeping time by tapping on his leg.   Then that got boring and he decided to take a nap.

~ X ~  

"Mmmmm."

Kitty couldn't get any words out.  She was blinking at the ceiling and mmm-ing, a bit jarred.  The last thing she remembered was a coppery taste in her mouth, wet grass on her back, and Kurt yelling her name.  But the ceiling of this room was not the sky.  The bed was the not the grass.  And as far as she could tell, Kurt wasn't here.  Although, she was feeling a little better, for some reason --- not quite as tired as she'd been feeling for the past few weeks.  She lifted one arm and saw the IV.

"Ah," she said.  

Things started to come together.  She was at the Institute, although she had no idea how long she'd been there.  She lifted her head and smiled.  Kurt was sitting there, with his feet on her bed and his music over his face, his arms dangling, snoring loudly.  Kitty managed to reach out with one of her legs.  Her foot slinked along under the covers and made wobbly contact with his heel.  He started awake under the paper.

"Ah?  Wha---?  Keety?"

The music fell on the floor and he sat up, rubbing his eyes.  He got his feet off the bed with a grunt, and she saw him heft himself up and stumble closer and closer, until he was leaning down over her, smelling like fur and hotdogs, and grinning at her.  Her face was pale, with red blotches where her pink cheeks used to be, and her hair was a mess.  Kurt sat down next to her shoulder.  They looked at each other for a long moment.

"Hallo, beautiful," he murmured.

Kitty blinked at him.  Kurt always did know just what to say to make someone feel better.  Two fat tears slipped out of her eyes and rolled down her cheeks, leaving her vision blurry.  She heard a gasp, and felt a big furry thumb brushing against either side of her face.  Her chest hitched as she tried to stifle it, but it couldn't be helped.  Two firm, fuzzy arms came around behind her and she found her face tilted against a warm chest, humming with life, a strong heartbeat in her ear.  She managed to lift her arms and return the hug, even as the tears kept coming.

She could tell by the way he was holding her that she hadn't made the team.  There was warmth all around her, and a slight, gentle, moving pressure on the top of her head where he was stroking her hair.  There was no pity in it, no condescension.  But that didn't stop her from feeling like a pile of dog crap.  Her head ached, her limbs were stiff and numb, and her pride, mouth, and belly were locked in a three-way tie to see which could cause her the most pain.  The worst part, though, was that in the end, none of it mattered.  She had lost at least a day of class, and any chance of being a cheerleader.  All that hell had been for nothing.  

She fell apart.

"I … don't … f-fit," she mumbled.  Her throat was amazingly sore.

"Ah?  Vhat?" he asked, and leaned back.

"I … d-don't … f-f-fit!" she said again, more emphatically, and started to cry.

Kurt was bewildered by Kitty's behavior.  He held her closer and rocked her a little, but she was broken and battered, inside and out, and she couldn't stop sobbing.  

She didn't fit.  She'd always known it, on some level, but to be belted with it in a locker room, to faint on a football field just trying to be part of something…  It was useless to try anymore.  She was the perpetual valley girl in a snobby little East Coast town.  She was the secret genius who never talked about her grades, for fear of being ostracized.  And in her own opinion, she made a damn scrawny superhero.

Apparently, none of this mattered to Kurt.  He just held her and let her cry, alternately wondering what he would say to her when she stopped, and what he would do if she didn't.  Would he have to press the panic button on the bed?  Would Mr. McCoy have to sedate her?  That was what always happened on TV, when somebody got hysterical in the hospital.  He was so deep into these rather silly thoughts that he didn't even hear her cough to a stop, and trail off into a few hiccups.  There was just a sudden absence of noise.  

He cleared his throat and found the nerve to speak --- which was about the time he realized he hadn't thought of a single thing to say.  But the words came.  They started from somewhere deep inside him, unrehearsed and stuttered, and true.  

"You do fit.  And I'm so glad you're alive," he said, his voice somewhere above her.  "I don't care who makes fun of you.  I lo--- …" He paused, his jaw working as he dragged all his emotions back into himself.  "Don't you ever try to disappear on me again, _Kätchen_."  

Kitty, exhausted, nodded against him.  Her back teeth began to ache fiercely.

Perhaps it was the pain, or the stress, or all the vomiting, but Kitty had been pushed to the brink.  What happened next was completely Zen.  It suddenly dawned on her that a pretty amazing person had watched over her, dragged her off a football field, gotten her some help, and waited by her bed so she wouldn't wake up alone.  More importantly, it wasn't Lance.  She held on to Kurt a little tighter.

"I won't," she whispered into his shirt, too quietly for him to hear.  "You're too cool."

~ X ~

The next day, Kitty was still in the Med Lab, propped up with pillows and tucked under a few blankets.  Everyone stopped by and said hello.  She tried to reply, but her hellos came out, "Eh-woh," since her mouth had been stuffed with gauze to protect her molars until she could see the dentist on Monday.  The professor told her, as he promised, that Lance had called.  She made some airy, half-coherent promise to call him back.  

Kurt came in a few times, and talked to her a lot, although she couldn't really keep up her end of the conversation.  He understood.  The last time he came in he was in his tux, ready to go to the choir concert.  He hadn't turned on his inducer yet, and Kitty, while looking outwardly calm and on the mend, privately couldn't help noticing the way the black contrasted so dashingly with his fur.  Kurt was fiddling with one of his cufflinks, tongue stuck out in concentration.  Kitty smiled and beckoned him over. 

He obeyed, sitting down on the bed and holding out his hand.  She maneuvered the little gold button into its hole on the wrist of his suit.  Kurt watched her silently, marveling at the way her nimble little fingers worked their magic with the disobedient accessory.  When she was done, she held onto his wrist and looked into his eyes.  They were both quiet.  It was a perfectly imperfect moment.  Each had something to say, but he wasn't brave enough to come out with it, and she couldn't talk.

"I am so dreadfully sorry you cannot attend," Kurt said, finally.  "Ziss is going to be za most singularly brilliant event in za history of music."

They both started laughing.  Kurt's giggle was deep and happy.  Kitty's was unbelievably hoarse.

She gave him a "good luck" hug and he left, unaware that as Scott drove him to the dress rehearsal, Kitty was pulling out her laptop from under the covers.  (Rogue had smuggled it in.)  She was determined to see the concert, even if she couldn't attend.  

~ X ~

Perhaps the planets had aligned, causing a cosmic wind that swept up everyone in the Bayville High School Chorus.  Perhaps the ghosts of dead high school singers momentarily invaded their bodies and spoke through them.  Perhaps it was divine intervention.  But whatever the reason, somehow, that night, the choir was in tune.  When they gave Miss Kally the opening chord during their warm-up, she staggered back like someone had shot her.  

"Who are you?" she asked.  

It got a laugh.  They finished the warm-up, with Miss Kally dumbfounded and shaking her head.  

Kurt and the guys were all in tuxes, their hair combed, looking presentable.  The girls were wearing deep red dresses that came to the floor.  Miss Kally shooed them onstage.  They walked out to some pretty weak applause, and took out their choir folders.  Their teacher came out last, took a bow, and faced the choir.

The piano intro started, and they began.  Miraculously, it didn't sound too bad.  This was fortunate, because most of the Institute had come out to see the choir perform.  Professor X, Logan and Ororo were sitting next to each other in the audience, and the students had gathered into small clumps around the auditorium.  Scott was sitting with Jean off to one side.  Tabitha was sitting with Amara and watching Lance intently.  Rogue was sitting with Evan, who'd plucked a prime seat in the middle.  She was watching the stage, actually a bit proud of her little brother.  He, meanwhile, was filming the event with a small video camera.

And Kitty, cuddled in bed at the mansion, was watching the concert with Evan's camera, too --- in real time, through the video hook-up on her laptop.  She was listening to the performance through her headphones.  The choir was actually sounding reasonably together as they rattled their way through a few Irish ballads.  And then came the final number, "Red Red Rose."

"_Oh my love's like a red, red rose, that's newly sprung in June _…" the choir began.  

Kitty sat up a little bit.  

"_Oh my love's like a melody, that's sweetly played in tune.  As fair art thou, my bonnie lass, so deep in love am I … I will love you still, my dear, till a' the seas gang dry_."

"Wow, this is, like, actually good!" she thought.

"_I will love thee still, my dear, while the sands of life shall run … Till the seas gang dry my dear, and rocks melt with the sun!_

_As fair art thou, my bonnie lass, so deep in lo-ove am I!  I will come back again, my love _…"

Kurt took the solo.  "_Tho__' it vere ten thousand mile!"_

His voice, mellow and sweet, rang out all over the auditorium.  The piano finished up, and the song ended.  The audience went crazy.  Kitty, leaning back against the mattress, couldn't take her eyes off the computer, since Evan had kept the camera on Kurt.  He was looking directly at the lens with shining eyes, and then he said something.  It was drowned out completely by the noise.  She stared at her screen curiously.

~ X ~

Kurt was standing with the group, graciously receiving accolades, and closing his choir folder.  He saw Evan's video camera and spoke quietly, even though nobody could possibly hear him over the applause.  He had to make it clear, at least to himself, who he'd been singing to.

"Keety, I am LYA," he said, and smiled.

THE END!

--------

Well?  What did you think?  : ) ~ (That's my Kurt happy face.  He's got a little tail! XD) 

Thanks for reading,

Kiki


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